In 1896, the New Haven Railroad built the bridge and widened its route to four tracks, as it simultaneously built its South Norwalk Railroad Bridge over the intersection of Washington Street with North Main and South Main streets.

[2] The swing span has a rim-bearing system of 96 rollers, allowing tall vessels to pass by.

In 1907, the rail line was electrified with overhead catenary wires, which form a prominent feature of the bridge today.

[4] As a single movable span with aging mechanical mechanisms, the Norwalk River Bridge represents a frequent point of failure for Amtrak and Metro-North service and has been targeted for replacement with dual movable spans.

[7] Amtrak was awarded $465 million in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds in November 2023.